This Long Morning
by Will of the Abyss - AllenxRoad
Summary: When the Level Four attacks the order, all eyes are on Lenalee as her innocence upgrades to it's new and improved Crystal Type. However, does anyone know how Allen feels? Do they know what it's like to see an Akuma's soul? Maybe the order should realize how much Allen really sacrifices for his family. (No pairings, mostly Allen's POV) Enjoy!


**Hey guys! I was re-watching the last few episodes of D. Gray-man, because they're my favorite, and I realized I was really disappointed there wasn't more focus on Allen when he fought the level 4. Only Link and Komui _really_ knew how injured he actually was, and because I'm stubborn and want Allen to be the spotlight in everything, I've decided to write his fight with the Level 4 entirely about him. (Sorry Lenalee...)**

**I don't know why I find torturing Allen so entertaining...**

**Disclaimer: You got me! I'm Hoshino-san! Hahaha, I had you fooled didn't I? *see's your face* What? You can't take a joke? Fine. No, I'm not _actually_ Hoshino-san. If I was, I would have updated chapter 219 before a year had passed...**

**Notice: I quoted practically everything from the manga itself, in case you were wondering, but I made a few changes to the things that happened. Eh, you'll see~**

* * *

Allen Walker flinched as his eye activated. His attention -that had been fixed on Marie, who was holding the unconscious Miranda-san- moved along with his searching red eye. The small buzz he'd felt earlier had suddenly pulsed and dragged his head to the direction of the faint screams coming from a few feet away.

Without a thought, he jumped away from Bookman, Marie, and Miranda-san to find the object of his attention. He barely heard a shout coming from Bookman before he'd left their view completely.

As if in a trance, he landed with his silver cloak billowing around him, and immediately noticed the very _large_ puddle of blood at his feet. Snapping out of his haze, he noted with horror that Reever, Bak, and two other scientists were lying in the midst of the crimson liquid. His eyes traveled upward and found a scientist he recognized as a man named Mavi bit in half by a mutated pair of lips.

"A...lle...n-" A choked voiced came from Mavi's bloodied mouth. His hand that had been hanging at an awkward angle upside-down began to point above the mass of Akuma he was practically buried in.

"It...E...vol...ved." Allen's activated eye pulled it's his view up to the smoking, cracked ball resting at the top of the mass. Upon closer inspection, he realized it wasn't a ball, but the split stomach of a white woman.

"It's...E...vol...ved. So...sorry...we...couldn't..hold...out..." Allen fearfully looked back down as black stars grew across the surface of Mavi's arm. It wasn't long until the stars multiplied and covered every inch of the once pale skin. Suddenly, his arm from the wrist up cracked and fell off, shattering on the floor. The rest of Mavi's body dissolved into dust and settled on the ground, absorbing the blood that was splattered on the floor.

Allen felt a tear fall from his right eye and his knees became weak. Once again, he looked up at the burst stomach as Timcanpy fluttered nervously. Nothing was there? What was Mavi talking about before he died?

"Hehe...Heheh...Heh...Heheh...Heheh...He..." Allen swallowed involuntarily as childish laughter echoed through out the wrecked lab. His eye gave a high-pitched whirr as a glowing halo peeked out from behind the woman. The laughter stopped the moment a curious face came into view. Allen's eyes widened as the rest of the body flew out into the open.

A man-like Akuma was floating next to the smoking hole it had been born from, it's wings fluttering like a hummingbird's. An inverted pentagram was engraved on it's chest and forehead, proving it's connection to the Earl. It was unnaturally thin; the hard, white flesh was sucked in between too-defined ribs and each joint on the Akuma's arms and legs were joined as if it were a gruesome puppet.

"I'm Level Fooooour!" The exorcist and Akuma both were frozen, staring at each other, one with curiosity, the other with fear and disgust. Allen could hardly believe the words that had just been spoken, but then he finally saw the soul.

Allen felt as if his heart had stopped. The sight that only he could see was beyond disgusting. It was cruel, terrifying, torturous, and most of all, foul. Allen's left eye swiveled to the back of his head and he found he legs had become too weak to keep him standing. His right hand flew to his mouth to try and contain the vomit that was worming it's way up his esophagus. Although he tried, he couldn't hold it in, and he gagged, spitting his lunch onto the floor. The acidic taste burned his throat, and the dry gagging that came after only made the burn worse.

"Unghh..." Allen groaned in protest to the approaching wave of sickness that threatened to spill over once again. His activated claw trembled as he put all his weight into it. Allen could feel more tears beginning to drip down his cheek.

_The soul contained within...no...NO! I can't even bear to look!_ Allen's right hand, that luckily had escaped the bile, began to wipe the tears from his eyes. It was futile, as his mind tortured him by showing the screaming soul over and over again, and the tears continued to flow.

"Are you crying?" The Level Four had landed while Allen was busy and was looking down at Allen's shaking form. Allen couldn't even look up. A sob wracked his burning throat and he buried his face in his arm.

He almost leaped when he felt something deathly cold touch his innocence. Allen stopped breathing when he saw Johnny's scratched and bruised hand resting on his.

"Sorry...I'm sorry Allen. Help me...Help everyone..." Allen's tears dripped onto Johnny's hand as Johnny continued. "Help...Sorry, I'm so s-sorry. HELP!" Johnny's face was bloated with tears of his own, and snot covered the bottom half of his face.

"Help," Johnny whispered one last time. Allen gathered his strength and placed his right hand over Johnny's, trying to provide all the comfort he could. He hoped Johnny could feel his resolve beginning to form.

""Everyone"? Who's that?" Allen took a deep breath and gave one final glance to Johnny. Moving as quickly as he could, he pulled the Sword of Exorcism out from his body and covered the stump on his left side with his cloak. He launched into a fighting position and immediately leaped at the Level Four, sword first. There was a _'clink'_ as the white child blocked the attack with his armored forearm.

"I will destroy you! Level Four!" He swiped the sword to the right and pushed the Akuma several yards away. Without hesitation, he jumped after, registering that he had just passed the three exorcists he was with before.

"What?" Bookman questioned.

"Oh, Shit! This is...The noise of an Akuma!" Marie shouted, his left arm clutching Miranda's arm.

"Oh! Of course! I'd completely forgotten! This is the Black Order HQ, isn't it?" The Akuma asked, comically scratching his forehead. Allen chose not to answer the question, and pushed the broadsword back into his body, regaining his left claw.

"Bookman! There are lots of people injured! Help them..." Allen begged. He locked eyes with Bookman for a second and then resumed his attack.

"A weapon of slaughter. That's what I am, why I exist. Better get to work." Allen landed on the Akuma's shoulders and brought his hand back to prepare to strike.

"Like hell you will! Edge End!" When he sliced the top of the Akuma's head, it slammed into the ground, creating a crater. But as the dust cleared, an empty hole was all that was left to prove he had even hit it at all. Allen flinched when he recognized the voice from behind him.

"I'll start with you." The moment Allen turned to face his opponent, a bony finger flicked his abdomen and a crackled ball of dark matter flung him back. Allen screamed as the dark matter singed his hair and face. In a flash, the screaming stopped and he slammed through an iron rail and hit the concrete wall. All eyes in the room flickered to the explosion and watched the cloud of rubble bounce across the floor and dirty the air. What they saw once the smoke cleared shocked them.

Allen was seemingly stuck to a deep crater and his innocence had deactivated. If one was closer, they would see fragment of the iron rail driven through his waist and the blood pouring from his head. The ends of his hair was already dripping blood and the ends of his pants were shredded. Allen collapsed and fell on the floor a foot below him.

Timcanpy zoomed over and bounced onto Allen's head. When Allen didn't move after the prodding, Timcanpy fluttered about his head growling worriedly and gnawing at the roots of his hair.

"Hmmph. Time to slaughter!" An excited squeal echoed around the room as the Akuma lifted his hand above his head in celebration.

Anyone that had been watching Allen flickered to the new Akuma, not noticing the frantic chitters coming from a very concerned Timcanpy.

* * *

Although Allen had slipped into the bliss of unconsciousness, he was forcefully awakened by a blistering scream. His head throbbed as the screech rang on, amplifying as it echoed off of the crater behind him and bounced directly into his ears.

Allen helplessly watched as everyone else was similarly affected. The chanting of a spell pulled his scattered attention to his Master, who was summoning Maria. Just as the sweet sound of Maria's singing reached his bleeding ears, the sound was silenced and the Akuma darted to Tiedoll.

"There's plenty over there, right?" A ball, similar to the one that threw Allen into the wall, swelled at the Level Four's fingertips and than was released at the glowing structure that was protecting the remaining scientists.

Not only were the vines of innocence weakened, the ground around it crumbled and collapsed. Out of nowhere, a steaming pipe came flying out of the broken ground and headed Allen's direction. Allen closed one eye and tried to prepare himself for the impact. When he waited several seconds -and felt nothing- Allen looked up to see Link slicing the pipe into five pieces and directing them off course.

"L-Link?" Allen asked before sighing and resting his dizzy head on the ground.

"I can't let you die just yet..." Link trailed off as he looked at the destruction below them. Allen followed his lead and gasped as heat assaulted his face.

"Wha-What is-?" Link stuttered, partially in shock. The floor where the dead Akuma giants and Maker of Eden had been was completely gone, replaced with fire and smoke. Broken pipes stuck out from the edges and gases poured from their openings.

"The Science Division, Bookman, Marie, Miranda-san! Master!" Allen began to hyperventilate as the face of people lost clouded his vision. "He fell? Can't be..."

"What? There's no way! No way... Even a general?" Link muttered. Allen could barely keep up with what Link was saying. His head was swimming in pain as he the adrenaline he had before drained and left him to feel the deep cuts and the sticky blood. His eyesight faded to black for a moment, but he used will to fight his way back to reality. When he regained his senses, Link was watching the Level Four murdering the Skulls that had been trapped in one of the scientist's shimmering barriers.

"HeeHee, sorry. I'm just a little excited right now." The Akuma giggled and bit it's pinky. "There are plenty more human in there, right?" The gate that blocked the Science Division from the rest of head quarters slowly lowered or it's master's -The Earl's- creation.

"Stop!" Allen shouted, struggling to stand. However, his struggle caused him to only tire himself out more and breathing became difficult. He watched in shame as the Level Four giggled and left the burning room to continue his spree.

"Walker, hurry up, you need to go after it." Allen groaned and nodded, but he could barely even move his finger, never mind his whole body.

"Link-" Allen paused, grimacing at the harsh sting on the side of his stomach. "My stomach..." Link narrowed his eyes and rolled Allen over on his left side. Allen could hear the sharp intake of breath as Link saw the rail impaling Allen.

"Walker." Link sighed deeply and gently grabbed the edge of the rail. With a slight nod from Allen, Link quickly yanked the object out and threw it aside. Allen was struggling not to scream at the pain that caused his vision to flicker again. Without realizing it, Link wrapped a strip of fabric from his coat to wrap around the hole.

"I don't have the proper materials to fix this. We need to get you to a doctor before you can fight." Link mumbled, trying to staunch the flow of blood, ruining his spotless gloves. Link proceeded to use the soiled gloves as padding and wrapped more fabric around them to keep them in place.

Allen barely heard the last of Link's sentence, and tried to respond.

"No time- The Akuma- I have t-" Allen's words faded and he lost the will to stay awake. His head fell and hit the ground with a thunk and his right hand that had been hovering near the bleeding hole dropped, barely brushing the make-do bandages. Link growled and resisted the urge to bang his head against a wall. Now what could he do? Without Walker, the order's chances of survival were slim, especially with the lack of exorcists at the moment.

However his thoughts were cut short when suddenly, Allen's innocence activated. Link look at his face to see if he'd awoken, but his eyes were still closed and his mouth was slack. A silver and black mask slipped over Allen's eyes and glowing belts sprouted from the fabric of Crown Clown's cloak.

"What-" Link watched with slight fascination as the belts wrapped around Allen's limbs and pushed him off the ground. Two ribbons of white attached to each wrist wrapped around two nearby pillars and supported Allen's weight.

A quiet moan came from the boys mouth as they wrapped around each of his injuries, acting as bandages of their own. Suddenly, Allen's left arm glowed green and his right hand gripped his wrist. The Sword of Exorcism emerged from his shoulder and gleamed threateningly in the light of the flames below.

The mask seemed to tilt in Link's direction for a moment, but then the belts stretched and carried Allen's unconscious body to the doorway that the Akuma had exited from. Link sat frozen for a second, trying to comprehend what was happening before pulling out a notebook and quickly scratching down the events to report them later.

* * *

Allen's body -more like his innocence- was flinging itself through hallways and large rooms, following the soul of the Level Four. Despite moving directly about hundreds of frantic finders and doctors alike, hardly anyone noticed the glowing boy racing through the building, sword in hand and webs of innocence transporting him. Everyone was much to focused on other things, like the already dead or injured or collecting important machines and materials that would be evacuated along with everyone else in the building.

Allen was only noticed when he eventually found the center of the tower and jumped into the dark hole that led to the battle raging below.

"Was that Walker?" Someone asked as the fiddled with a broken barrier.

"I think it was..." His companion replied.

"Wasn't he there when the Science Division was attacked?"

"He was one of the two exorcists to get there first."

"Then why is he going to fight? He should be injured pretty badly! The whole floor collapsed and went up in flames."

"He seemed... fine. He's just doing his job I suppose. Anyway, get back to work. We need to get as many of these up as possible." The other man snorted.

"What good will that do? You saw what happen a couple minutes ago! These barriers do nothing against a Level Four!"

"We're under the Supervisor's orders."

* * *

Allen's body fell, unhindered, as the Level Four below approached Lenalee. She was lying in front of her innocence, blindly reaching for the only thing that could save the order, when the Akuma rested it's left foot on her face.

"Hey. Look at me. H-" Suddenly, just as the Level Four began to frown, Crown Clown's belts wrapped around the railing next to the Level Four and Allen's body pointed the Sword of Exorcism at the unaware Akuma. However, just as Allen neared it, it turned slightly and flew out of the way, leaving Crown Clown to use more belts to slow itself down and prop up it's host's injured body.

"It's Allen Walker!" Leverrier shouted. Komui, Lavi, and Kanda's heads snapped over to the commotion to see Allen facing the Akuma.

"Oh? It's you? Strange that you can still move like that. After that good beating I gave you..." The Akuma growled and attacked Allen, kicking his heavily bleeding stomach, and then delivering several blows to his head and legs

Allen's body was sent flying over Hevlaska and hit the wall just above Komui's head.

"Allen-kun!" Komui shouted, concern coloring his voice. Allen slid down the wall and Komui rush over to help him up. However, when he touched Allen's clothes, his hand was suddenly slick with blood. Komui looked at his hand in shock as Allen slowly sat up.

"These wounds... How could you move at all in this condition?" His question was answered as Crown Clown's belts wrapped around the fallen elevator and pulled Allen up, his back bending at an awkward angle. Komui began muttering to himself.

"Crown Clown is a body Armor Innocence... Is the innocence forcing a body that can no longer function to move?!" The mask covering Allen's face shifted and tilted to look at Komui. Komui froze as the blank pits stared at him, effectively freezing him in place.

"Allen-kun!" Komui called once more, but Allen jumped away, chasing after the childish demon once again.

* * *

Allen groaned as he heard his name being called. His eyes opened and found himself being flung through the air with his Clown Belt guiding.

Quickly taking in his surroundings, he realized he was in Hevlaska's chamber with the innocence and that he was heading straight for the Level Four, which was glaring at him. Allen didn't have time to ask himself questions. He grunted and brought his sword down on the Akuma's head. However, a bright green light to his right distracted him, and he quickly pulled himself straight up to figure out what was going on.

_Why am I here? I thought I was with Link? Is that Lenalee? What's Komui doing here?_ Suddenly, something struck his back from behind and he hit the gangway Lenalee, Komui, and Leverrier were on. He shouted when his entire front side hit the platform, and disturbed the wounds that were wrapped by Crown Belt. Allen's breathing became thick as he tried to regain his bearings over the flood of pain.

The first the he saw after he cleared his mind was the Demon flying at a frightening speed, looking directly at him.

"Allen Walker!"

"Get Back!" Allen shouted. Using quick thinking, he pushed Leverrier aside with Crown Belt, removing him from danger just a ball of dark matter hit his chest.

"Ah haha! More... More, Exorcist!" As he prepared another blast of dark matter, Allen warily stood up and crouched, trying to steady his feet. He lifted his sword the moment the Akuma released it's power and blocked the ball of death. Unfortunately, he found that he wasn't going to be able to keep that up for long.

"Ngh-" Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth as he strained his body. Unexpectedly, two pairs of hands reached out from behind him and gripped the hilt of the sword with him.

"Hang in there," Kanda grunted.

"You're all we've got tight now!" Lavi explained. Allen swallowed at the thought of being the only one to fight the Akuma. Maybe it was for the best? That way, no one else would get injured in the fight. Maybe, just maybe he could do it himself and protect Lenalee, Komui, Kanda, Lavi, and even Leverrier.

For a moment, Allen considered the very real possibility that he would die in the process, but he found he didn't mind if he did it to save them. He flashed a sad smiled and then grunted as he used more force to fight against the dark matter.

The monster he was fighting merely grinned and then flicked the ball. Allen desperately used his cloak to try and shelter Kanda and Lavi from the blast, and for the most part, it worked. Allen took a direct hit and forced himself not to scream. It felt like electricity was running through him, shocking every part of his body and burning his skin.

"Allen-kun! Kanda-kun! Lavi!" Komui shouted while squeezing his sister's shoulders.

Kanda and Lavi groaned as they recovered from the force that ad pushed them back, but Allen couldn't speak. He had once again been knocked unconscious. The Level Four gripped his head and a dark aura covered Allen's body.

Lenalee appeared from the sky and kicked the Akuma's bony hand away, causing Allen to fall. The feeling of hitting the ground cause Allen to wake up. How could he sleep at a time like this anyway? Allen rested his hand on his head, feeling blood coating the side of his face. And then, before he could get up or attack again, Lenalee grabbed him a kicked them into the air at the speed of sound.

"Uuuugh... Lenalee... Too fast." If Allen hadn't thrown up earlier, then he was sure whatever had been in his stomach would've made an appearance.

"Ah, Sorry! Oh no- are you going to-?" Allen just shook his head and tried to find the Akuma. He was about to yell out a warning when Lenalee also spotted the Akuma. She tightened her grip on Allen -causing him to cringe- and kicked the Akuma with as much force as it was using on her. Allen watched the struggle between the two until Lenalee won and succeeded in push the Akuma a small distance away. As Lenalee caught her breath, Allen sighed.

"Lenalee, you can let me go. I'll be fine. I won't fall; I can just extend my Crown Belt..." Allen trailed off as Lenalee gave him a worried look. "And Lenalee, I failed... To protect everybody. I-I'm sorry." Allen gritted his teeth and clenched his fist at the memory of the floor of the Science Department burning.

"Me too. For showing up so late. It's time to stop him." Lenalee finished, and confident spark forming in her eyes. Allen smiled the most encouraging smile he could under the circumstances, and waited for Lenalee to let him go.

When she did, Allen reached out in all directions to find something to wrap his belts around and keep him up. Lenalee went straight for the Level Four and began attacking. Allen jumped into the fight, slashing the Akuma's chest as she kicked it in the stomach. Her kick forced it into the ground, and Allen fell soon after, plunging the Sword of Exorcism as hard as he could into he demon's chest. It resisted, grabbing the blade with it's hands and shouting loudly into Allen's ears. Suddenly, it stopped in grinned.

"Hah. 'Fraid not." Allen just smiled in response.

"Oh really?" He could she the confusion on it's face just before Lenalee landed and drove the sword deeper into the Akuma, using the force of her Dark Boots to apply more pressure. The Akuma grunted as she jumped into the air again and accelerated faster than Allen had ever seen. When she hit again, Allen grunted and fought to keep the sword straight.

"Get off me!"

"Not a chance!"

"Get the fuck off me!" Suddenly, it's struggles ceased and Allen faintly heard what sounded like his Master's voice from afar. Without the wiggling and fighting, the sword buried itself into the ground below the Level Four, practically severing it in half. Suddenly, an explosion went off high above them, and Allen looked hopefully to it, almost sure he knew who would be there. And sure enough, the red-headed bastard Allen had never been so happy to see was the, smoking a cigarette and twirling his innocence around.

"This little beer-belly punk is gonna make a lovely little sample for testing." Then he glanced at Komui, who was staring with a dumbfounded expression. "The Evacuation is off, Komui."

Allen looked between Cross and Komui, wondering what they were talking about. Evacuation? Did something happen between the time he got from the Science Department?

As Allen listened to the words being shared between his Master and Komui, his eyes widened.

"Reever?" Allen whispered as Komui talked to someone over the earpiece receiver he was wearing. Lenalee was apparently think the same thing.

"Nii-san! There were survivors in the lab?"

"Is that true, Komui-san?" Allen called out, trying to keep the desperate tone out of his voice.

"Allen, Lenalee..." Komui smiled and nodded. "That's right." Allen was expecting to sigh in relief or smile, but he was shocked to find tears forming in his eyes. He bent over and inwardly prayed to the God he never believed in. He fervently hoped Lenalee hadn't spotted his tears, because he needed to be strong for everyone.

Suddenly, just as he wiped his face with his bloody sleeve, he realized the Level Four was emitting dark matter from every pore.

"I hate it! I hate it! I hate it! I hate this stupid innocence!" Using his right hand, he launched a tiny ball of dark matter into Allen's face and then ripped the sword out of his body. As Allen landed in another wall, -for what, the third time that morning?- his sword embedded itself right next to him, narrowly avoiding his shoulder.

"Hah...Haha *pant* Ha... You fools! You really thought that this would be enough to destroy me?" As it cackled, Cross smirked and shot it with Judgment. The Akuma went into overdrive as it forced the powerful bullet away. When it redirected the bullet, it smirked.

"Looks like you underestimated me. Not a chance!" The Akuma chuckled, as if inviting Cross to try again.

"Did you only see one shot?" Cross cocked his gun and six empty shells fell out, bouncing on the ground. Allen watched as the Akuma froze and parts of his body started cracking.

"No way..." The places that weren't cracked bloated into unnatural proportions, blowing the metal body up like a balloon.

"Where was I?" Cross smirked. "Ah yes, the reason. Let's overlook everything you did to the members of the Order. I'm not that cruel a man, after all. But then... You went and messed up my clothes." Allen had to take a deep breath to keep himself from hitting his master. But then, he ended up regretting the breath, since it brought pain with it as his chest expanded.

Before he could get comfortable again, the bloated Level Four took off, trying to escape. Allen's eyes flashed with anger. He wasn't going to let it get away.

"Crown Belt!" The ribbons that weren't holding him up tied up the flying Akuma and dragged it back down to him, Lenalee, and his Master.

"You're not getting away! I will destroy you here!" Allen shouted, pulling up his sword once again. Him and Lenalee flew at the Akuma as it fell and struck it at the same time, creating a whole.

"Damn it... How mortifying. But, I did kill an awful lot... Earl-sama." The Akuma exploded and whatever remains there were fell to the ground.

"Ah hahaha! Don't get so full of yourselves just because you defeated the likes of me. We could destroy you weaklings whenever we so desire. In the end, we shall prevail!" Allen watched from a distance as the head of the Level Four spouted dark prophecies of their death. He almost laughed when Cross pretended to sneeze and shot the thing. Of course, it hurt to much to laugh. In fact, now that the fight was over, Allen found it hard to do anything. Lenalee had already deactivated her innocence, but Allen knew he couldn't, unless he wanted to worry everyone. Which he didn't, for the record.

Allen could tell Cross was saying something and smirking, but Allen's ears became muffled. Was something in them? Allen reached up and touched his right ear. He wasn't surprised to see blood coating his fingertips. Slipping away from everyone, Allen carefully used his innocence to drag him away out of sight. He desperately wanted to check on everyone from the Science Department, but he probably couldn't talk to anyone until they were healed, anyway. Allen spotted a dark hall a couple floors above and smiled faintly. He should have a rest and let everyone get healed first. He didn't want to get in the way. There were probably people who needed help more than himself.

Allen barely felt his innocence pulling him up the the empty floor and settling him against a pillar. Allen was about to fall asleep when he realized his innocence was probably draining his energy. Allen sighed and deactivated it, his hand returning to it's usual shape and size.

For a moment, Allen sighed and closed his eyes, but they shot open as the belts the held his body together disappeared. His went limp and blood spurted through the cuts on his sleeve. His arm from the elbow must have been raw, but Allen didn't have the strength to look.

His legs were throbbing, as if his blood was jumping in his veins. Even the slightest shift sent him into shock. Both legs were shattered on the inside and his left calf was spilling the precious crimson liquid he was running low on.

Allen barely felt it when Timcanpy landed on his knee. The golem was fluttering it's wings to keep from leaning on Allen too much. Allen tried to look up and smile, but his neck exploded in protest at even the thought of movement. His head hung limply forward and he watched as his tangled hair dangled in front of his eyes.

"Allen-kun?" Allen twitched when he heard Lenalee's voice calling from below. "Where did you go?" Allen mumbled to himself, inwardly praying she would come looking. However, Timcanpy had a mind of his own, and flew away. Allen could nothing to stop him as he rushed over to Lenalee and flew around her head twice.

"Timcanpy? Do you know where Allen went?"

"T-Tim-" Allen groaned.

"Up there? Take me to him. Is he okay?" Judging by the faint gasp, Allen assumed Timcanpy had replied with a negative. In seconds, his golden friend was nestling into his chest, growling protectively.

"Oh my god, Allen-kun!" Allen used every bit of power he had to lift his head and smile gently at Lenalee. His eyes found hers and tried to tell her he was fine.

"Le-na...Go t- the scien-'s. I- fine."

"No Allen, you're not fine! How did this happen?" Allen shook his head and groaned when a jarring headache took over.

"Lenalee...? Don' worry... I'm... ugghhh... fine" Allen felt a warm, sticky substance dribble over the edge of his lip and drip down his chin, eventually landing on his chest, next to Timcanpy.

"Allen, I need you to listen. I'm going to get a doctor. Don't go anywhere! Timcanpy, make sure he sits still." Her voice wavered as she imagined Allen standing in his state. "Please be okay, Allen." Lenalee sniffled and then jumped away, leaving Allen alone again.

"Tim... Don't you think it'd be a nuisance if I made the doctors come here?" Tim growled and nudged Allen's chest. "I'm sure I coul' make it to tha infirmary. Tha' way they don' have ta walk all tha wa' down here." Timcanpy began to whine and push Allen against the pillar to keep him from standing. Allen chuckled at Tim's antics, and promptly activated his innocence. Or tried to.

When the cloak billowed out behind him, he felt a sudden drop in his energy and suddenly couldn't breathe. He barely had any strength to move, never mind use innocence. But Allen ignored the internal struggle and carefully wrapped Crown Belt around his waist, neck, and legs. With a burst of will, Allen shoved himself off the floor and found himself standing. But the pressure being applied to his wounds by the innocence made him choke and fall over again. The moment he hit the ground, the innocence deactivated and Allen could feel the concrete pillar digging into his shoulder blades.

Black crowded his sight until he could only see Timcanpy's body. The long, feathery wings were out of view, despite being right in front of his face. Allen recognized his mind losing consciousness, so he breathed deeply twice, before stopping due to the pain that came with breathing. Lucky, the breathes cleared the black on the edges of his eyesight and he felt the strength of the headache lessen.

"I'm fine..." He whispered to no one in particular. Timcanpy seemed to sigh and beat his wings twice, meaning Allen obviously _wasn't_ fine.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoed through the hall he was in. For a moment, Allen felt guilty, knowing they were probably the doctors Lenalee had gone to get, but it soon became clear it was only one pair of feet.

"Lenalee?" When there came no answer, Allen sighed. "Don' worry abou' me... Hurry, go to tha people from ta Scien' Depa'ment. You've been here..." Allen coughed up some liquid, be it bile or blood, and continued. "...Longer then I hav', so..." Allen stopped talking when he realized he didn't have any air in his lungs anymore.

"I'm sure..." A wheezing cough, "Go on, hurry-"

"We already sent her on up." Allen nearly jumped at the deep voice.

"Who's tha'," he asked as two arms wrapped around his thighs and pulled him up onto his back.

"Howard Link."

"Link?"

"Apparently the medical teams have their hands full right now, so I'll carry you." Link shifted Allen's broken body and slowly began to move towards he direction he came from. Allen rested his chin on Link's should, no longer able to hold his head up.

"Thank you," he whispered.

"It's my job." Allen's eye's opened at that and he almost smiled. That meant he wasn't troubling anybody. Link would have had to get him anyway, under orders. But his relief was short-lived.

"Reever-san...and tha others?"

"They're all okay. The humans at least." Allen froze and Link sighed. "Those who were turned into Skulls, it seems, cannot be saved. Many of them have crumbled into dust already." A faint scream came from the top of the tower, but Allen did not move. He recognized the sound. It wasn't one of fright, but of anguish and loss. He weakly bit his lip as tears cascaded down his face, falling onto Link's shoulder. Allen was glad was glad Link stayed silent Allen mourned for his lost friends.

He had known many people in the Science Department. Reever, Johnny, Tapp, Number 65, Russel, Mavi, and countless others that had warmed up to him over the year since he'd joined the Black Order. Allen wasn't sure who he had lost to the Skulls, or who had died after the egg was destroyed. He hoped that if Reever-san was okay, then maybe those that had been injured and protected by Tiedoll were okay as well.

Allen didn't feel anything except the tears that burned his cheeks while Link walked. He knew his wounds must have been screaming at him, but he didn't feel them, so he couldn't care less.

Being so focused on his thoughts, he didn't feel the gentle squeeze around his legs, nor the whispered words from Link's mouth saying, "This long morning is over now."

* * *

**Gahh, I hate endings. They're so hard to... end. It seems almost anti-climatic. Eh, you can judge me.**

**I'm so mean to Allen sometimes...**

**Abyss-chan out~!**


End file.
